Following the Floods in Pakistan in 2010, the Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004, and the Earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, Transparency International (TI) has worked to address the risk of corruption in relief and reconstruction efforts on several levels. Its national chapters in affected countries have sought to strengthen the accountability of relief operations by, for example, advocating proper accountability by all stakeholders, organising coalitions of local NGOs and communities to monitor aid delivery and establishing appropriate management systems for such NGOs.

At the regional level, the TI-Secretariat has helped bring together key stakeholders to identify concrete measures to ensure that aid efforts are not tainted by corruption.

Following work on these disasters in Asia, Transparency International (TI) is seeking to prevent corruption in humanitarian relief and reconstruction activities globally by focusing on the aftermath of natural disasters and civil conflicts. Increasing efforts in this area will enable the documentation, sharing and implementation of good practice through tools for identifying vulnerabilities and minimising the risks of corruption. Anti-corruption initiatives in the wider development field offer many lessons and can encourage learning among agencies from initiatives that until now have remained largely internal.

On 23 September 2010 in Islamabad, Transparency International Pakistan and Transparency International, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance in the Government of Pakistan held a workshop to support transparency and accountability and curb the risk of corruption in the use of flood relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction funds

The workshop reinforced that concerns of corruption and the misuse of aid funds, following the devastating July 2010 floods in Pakistan, should not prevent the public and aid agencies from contributing to emergency aid relief in desperate humanitarian crises. Instead the answer is to have adequate safeguards for greater transparency and accountability in the disbursement of emergency aid relief as well for longer-term reconstruction efforts to ensure that corruption does not stop aid from reaching the victims.

Read more about the presentations and conclusions of the workshop.

Participants at a two day workshop in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 7-8 February 2006, identified a framework of relevant good practice and stakeholder responsibilities to be taken by government, local and international civil society and donors to support transparency and curb the risk of corruption in Pakistan’s earthquake reconstruction efforts. The workshop drew on lessons learned from the response to previous disasters, as well as considering the specific context of the Pakistan earthquake and the national considerations applicable to it.

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This report outlines the recommendations made at the International Workshop on Ensuring the Transparent Utilisation of Earthquake Reconstruction Funds, held in Islamabad in February 2006.

The workshop report is also available in Urdu.

On 7 to 8 April 2005, TI in co-ordination with the Asian Development Bank, the Organsation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Government of Indonesia, held an Expert Meeting on Curbing Corruption in Tsunami Relief Operations in Jakarta, Indonesia.

This meeting was composed of an opening and a closing plenary, a roundtable session highlighting approaches to preventing and curbing corruption as presently employed by governments of affected countries, and six thematic sessions.

Based on expert presentations and discussions during the meeting, participants reached a broad measure of agreement on a framework for action that provides applicable solutions to counter corruption in humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts, for use by policy makers, civil society, aid providers, and international institutions (see Meeting Conclusions and Framework for Action).

For more information on TI’s response to the Tsunami Crisis, please use the below links:

• In the wake of disaster: Preventing corruption in tsunami relief and reconstruction
• FAQ Tsunami

To help define the challenge of preventing corruption in humanitarian action, TI worked on an extensive report that maps and analyses corruption risks in emergency relief operations.

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Further information on TI activities in this area can be found here.